The second biggest judge association, The Francisco de Vitoria, has impugned before the Supreme Court the political accord to share out top judge positions.

Whilst the two main Spanish parties can hardly ever agree on anything, they had no problem ‘sharing the cake’ of judge assignment for the countries top judicial body, The General Council of the Judiciary.

Thanks to a pact between them and other minor parties, there was no problem passing the nominations through the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament. One of the parties that refused to participate in this carving up of the GCJ was the UPyD, who called on the Supreme Court to annul the accord. Since then they have been joined in their opposition to the accord by the said judges association.

The said association of moderate judges; i.e., who are not considered hardline left or right wing, considers the appointment of political nominees as illegitimate as it has reduced this judiciary council to a mere cambalache, which is a pejorative noun for swapping or exchanging.

Now it is up to the Supreme Court, dominated by the governing party, to decide if the post appointments have been carried out legally and whether the judge association claim that it is a case of “Interference by the main political parties and the government itself in the said choice.”

The judge association considers that the very independence of the body has been put into jeopardy. They have decided upon this unusual course of action because of the present climate of corruption and intense attacks against the independence of many judges.

So far two judges who have been investigating corruption in the governing party have both fallen victim and have been barred – one of whom is the internationally know, Judge Baltasar Garzon.

(News: Spain)